The meeting is being held with a view to forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), slated for November, in Glasgow, UK.

Bárcena claimed the Covid-19 pandemic made the structural gaps in the region even worse and showed health crisis is not alien to climate change, but that both issues are closely related.

She added that decarbonization rates in Latin America and the Caribbean are insufficient to meet the commitments in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and to be in line with the efforts demanded by science to avoid increased global temperature.

In this regard, Bárcena stressed that it´s necessary to ‘make compatible the need to contribute to Paris Agreement while increasing technical progress, fulfilling economic objectives and social goals.’

Likewise, she warned that the economic measures of Latin America in the face of the pandemic are not substantially contributing to a greener future since they do not promote structural change and keep inconsistencies between growth, poverty reduction and sustainability objectives.

Bárcena recalled that ECLAC was proposing an economic recovery with equality and sustainability, based on a transition towards renewable energy, sustainable electromobility, inclusive digital revolution, bioeconomics, health manufacturing industry, circular economy and sustainable tourism.

ef/pll/msm/rc